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Asia Times
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Asia Times
Chinese humanoid robots get reality check in half-marathon debut
Six out of 21 Chinese robots completed the world's first half marathon (21.1 kilometres) for humanoid robots in Beijing on April 19, with the winner setting a record time of 2 hours and 40 minutes. Over 12,000 people participated in the marathon on the same day, and the human winner reached the endpoint in 1 hour and 2 minutes. The Tien Kung Ultra robot, developed by X-Humanoid, a Beijing-based state-owned enterprise, won the race for humanoid robots. It is 1.8 meters tall and weighs 52 kilograms. The first runner-up, Noetix Robotics' N2, finished the half-marathon in 3 hours 37 minutes. It is 1.2 meters tall, weighs 29 kilograms, and wears children's trainers. The second runner-up, DroidUp's X02, finished the race in 4 hours and 50 minutes. It wears boxing gloves. An unofficial team entered the competition using a Unitree G2 robot, but the robot fell at the starting point and became a talking point of the event. Unitree said that the company did not send a team to participate in this marathon as it has been busy recently. It added that anyone who bought a Unitree robot can deploy it in activities, but different training will lead to different results. On April 10, Unitree released footage saying it will be live-streaming robot combat in about a month. Tang Jian, chief technology officer of X-Humanoid, said his team only used one robot to complete the half-marathon, while other players needed to change robots several times. He admitted that the X-Humanoid robot had fallen once during the marathon due to battery failure and had three battery swaps during the race. 'We have spent seven to eight months preparing for this marathon by doing a lot of tests on the robot and fine-tuning its algorithm,' Tang said. 'Firstly, we reduced our robot's weight; secondly, we improved its heat dissipation system to avoid overheating; Thirdly, we added a cushioning function to minimize wear on its sole and joint modules,' he added. 'What is more important is that we increased the length of our robot's legs to run faster.' 'The commercialization of humanoid robots will have three phases. In the first phase, robots will be used in general industries; then, they will be used in specific commercial environments to finish tasks such as packaging and scanning codes; finally, they will be deployed to homes to play the role of nanny and housekeeper,' Tang said. He said it would take Chinese companies three to five years to commercialize their robots, by which time they would be deployed in homes to serve people and do chores. X-Humanoid, officially known as Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, was formed jointly by robotics firm Ubtech, electronics and electric vehicle maker Xiaomi and the Beijing municipal government. Shares of the Hong Kong-listed Ubtech Robotics increased 2.9% on Tuesday. Shares of the state-owned Shoucheng Holdings, which has invested in X-Humanoid and Noetix, rose 4%. According to the marathon rules, each team can deploy three staff members to assist a robot. The robot does not need an autopilot system; its remote controller can be wired or wireless. The race terrain includes flat land and ramps, with a maximum slope of 9 degrees. The race route has six left-turn and eight right-turn lanes. One of the robot developers who joined the marathon said this activity aims to test robots' cerebellums (ability to control the body) instead of their cerebrums (ability to make decisions and think). Of the 21 robot runners, only six completed the race, while the remaining 15 failed. A small robot went up in smoke during a marathon in Beijing on April 7, 2025. Photo: Baidu A small robot developed by Beijing Polytechnic University students overheated and went up in smoke. Some other teams sprayed water on their robots to keep them cool. A female-looking robot walked a short distance and fell. One Gundam (from a Japanese comic) robot used four fans to move forward, but crashed seconds after beginning its journey. 'The winning secret of Noetix's N2 robot is its stable mechanical structure and superior algorithm performance,' Hu Chenxu, founder and chief scientist of Noetix, told the media. 'Small robots have a lot of advantages, such as higher flexibility and agility. Many research institutes use small robots to do their research work.' A female-looking robot has ended her journey after walking for a short distance. Photo: Baidu 'Robots need a high adaptability to go from the laboratory to the marathon track,' he said. He said he once worried that the N2 robot, which is more like a gymnast, would not be a good runner; fortunately, the robot performed exceptionally well, except it needed a new remote controller after a battery change. He said Noetix's robots are now used in scientific research, education, exhibitions, cultural, and tourism sectors and will be deployed for scenarios such as elderly care, industrial inspection and urban security. In September 2023, Jiang Zheyuan, a PhD student at Tsinghua University, then 25, founded Noetix Robotics. So far, the company has raised five rounds of funding. It planned to deliver one thousand robots this year and expected positive cash flow in the fourth quarter. Jiang told in an interview in March that his company needed to commercialize its products as early as possible due to its limited financial resources, unlike DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence company with sufficient resources to pursue technical ideals. Regarding the robotic race between China and the United States, Jiang said China has a substantial cost advantage. He said it costs only 40 yuan (US$5.5) per hour to collect robotic data in China but US$48 per hour in the US. Besides, he said a wide range of industries in China can provide different environments for companies to improve the algorithms of their robots. He said that using Chinese humanoid robots will continue to focus on education and exhibition in the next three years. He said Noetix plans to launch a small robot that costs below 10,000 yuan next year. According to the Gaogong Robot Industry Research Institute, total sales of humanoid robots will reach 12,400 units or 6.34 billion yuan globally in 2025. Chinese companies may sell about 7,300 humanoid robots during this period. Read: Unitree's humanoid robot a great side-flip forward for China
Euronews
21-04-2025
- Sport
- Euronews
Are humanoid robots faster than actual humans? China finds out in first half-marathon race
ADVERTISEMENT In one small step for robot-kind, almost two dozen humanoid robots ran alongside actual humans in a half-marathon in the Chinese capital on Saturday. The bipedal robots of various makes and sizes navigated the 21.1-kilometre (13.1-mile) course supported by teams of human navigators, operators, and engineers, in what event organisers say was a first. As a precaution, a divider separated the parallel courses used by the robots and people. A robot loses control at the start in what is billed as the world's first robot half marathon during the Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon held in Beijing on Saturday, April 19, 20 AP Photo/Ng Han Guan But some of the robots struggled in the beginning. Media reported that one fell at the starting line and lay on the floor for a few minutes before getting up and taking off again. Another robot crashed into a railing, causing its human operator to also fall over. The robots were all different shapes and sizes. Four legged robots perform before the award ceremony for the Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon held in Beijing on Saturday, April 19, 2025. AP Photo/Ng Han Guan While flesh-and-blood participants followed conventional rules, the 20 teams fielding machines in the Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon competed under tailored guidelines, which included battery swap pit stops. The Sky Project Ultra robot, also known as Tien Kung Ultra, from the Tien Kung Team, claimed victory among the nonhumans, crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds. Spectators look at a robot after the Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon held in Beijing on Saturday, April 19, 2025. AP Photo/Ng Han Guan The average half-marathon time for an average human is typically around 2 to 2.5 hours. But the humanoid robots were far behind professional runners. The half-marathon world record is held by Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda with a time of 56.42, who set it this February. Awards were also given out for best endurance, best gait design and most innovative form.
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Yahoo
Chinese Robots Can't Outrun Human Marathoners Just Yet
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing. Human runners competed against 21 humanoid robots in a half marathon in Beijing, China, this weekend, The Wall Street Journal reports. The Chinese government, which has made no secret of its support for the robotics industry, billed the event as a chance to showcase the country's emerging technology. But despite obvious advantages like not getting tired or feeling pain, human runners still came out largely victorious. Tien Kung Ultra, the event's robot winner, managed to finish the 13-mile race in 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds before being surrounded by spectators for photographs. Meanwhile, the event's male human champion finished the race in one hour, two minutes and 36 seconds. But many of the other robots did not enjoy the same level of success. As per the WSJ's reporting, some robots 'never made it much beyond the starting line,' while another robot, dubbed Huanhuan, ran in the wrong direction before sitting down mid-course and 'refusing to go further.' One robot, nicknamed Shennong, allegedly started 'swinging wildly' at the beginning of the race, tripped up the human runner guiding it, and later crashed into a wall. Many of the robot athletes were controlled via remote controls. Others, such as Tien Kung Ultra, were guided by human companions using a wireless tracking technology that enables them to communicate with the person running in front of it, judging the distances needed. But while you might be faster than the finest of the Chinese robotics industry—for now—that may not be the case for long. In 2025, the Chinese government established a state-backed venture capital fund focused on robotics, which plans to invest roughly $137 billion into the industry over the next 20 years. Meanwhile, robotics was highlighted as a key area in the country's 'Made in China 2025' plan, a government initiative to transform the country's manufacturing sector from producing cheap goods to high-value, high-tech industries—and reduce its reliance on foreign technology. But if you are concerned this could be a sign of China's encroaching AI dominance, you might be misguided. Alan Fern, professor of computer science, artificial intelligence and robotics at Oregon State University, told Reuters that the contest was "more of a hardware endurance demonstration," and though interesting, didn't demonstrate "any type of basic intelligence."
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Thousands of humanoid robots take part in half marathon
In one small step for robot-kind – thousands of them, really – humanoid robots ran alongside actual humans in a half-marathon in the Chinese capital Beijing on Saturday. The bipedal robots of various makes and sizes navigated the 13.1-mile course supported by teams of human navigators, operators, and engineers, in what event organizers say was a first. As a precaution, a divider separated the parallel courses used by the robots and people. While flesh-and-blood participants followed conventional rules, the 20 teams fielding machines in the Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon competed under tailored guidelines, which included battery swap pit stops. The Sky Project Ultra robot, also known as Tien Kung Ultra, from the Tien Kung Team, claimed victory among the non-humans, crossing the finish line in two hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds. Awards were also given out for best endurance, best gait design and most innovative form.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
No sweat: Humanoid robots run a Chinese half-marathon alongside flesh-and-blood competitors
BEIJING (AP) — In one small step for robot-kind — thousands of them, really — humanoid robots ran alongside actual humans in a half-marathon in the Chinese capital on Saturday. The bipedal robots of various makes and sizes navigated the 21.1-kilometer (13.1-mile) course supported by teams of human navigators, operators, and engineers, in what event organizers say was a first. As a precaution, a divider separated the parallel courses used by the robots and people. While flesh-and-blood participants followed conventional rules, the 20 teams fielding machines in the Humanoid Robot Half-Marathon competed under tailored guidelines, which included battery swap pit stops. The Sky Project Ultra robot, also known as Tien Kung Ultra, from the Tien Kung Team, claimed victory among the nonhumans, crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds. Awards were also given out for best endurance, best gait design and most innovative form. The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
